Denver Fan Expo tends to be one of the more popular events of the summer in downtown Denver. Fans gather from all over town to meet their favorite celebrities, dress up as their favorite characters, and buy oodles of awesome merch. Along with these, there are also many other popular things featured at the Expo such as panels, meet-and-greets, and art showcases. Of course, every Expo has things featured that are more popular than others, so let’s highlight some of those.
The “Supernatural” Panel and Meet-and-Greets
Supernatural actors Jared Padalecki, Ruth Connell, Jim Beaver, Alexander Calvert, and Mark Sheppard made appearances at this year’s Denver Fan Expo. Along with their meet-and-greets at their own respective tables near the sales floor the cast members also took part in a panel discussing what they’ve been up to since the finale of the show and answered questions from fans, which took place in The Mile High Ballroom. Both events drew in thousands of fans, so it’s safe to say that the Supernatural cast appearing was a big hit.
Lego Sculptures
Every year local Lego artists bring in various sculptures made from the classic blocks, and this year’s Expo was no different. Some of the many pieces of Lego art and sets seen were a scene of many Marvel characters fighting villains, Disney characters in their homes, the sword Excalibur from Arthurian lore, several Nintendo-centered art pieces, an elaborate Batcave containing Batman and his various vehicles, and a Lego piece sculpture of Colorado’s flag. Each piece also had a card detailing who made the sculptures.
Star Wars Cantina
If you’ve seen the classic Star Wars movies you probably remember the cantina that Luke and Ben meet Han Solo and Chewbacca in. The Mos Eisley watering hole is known for its many freaky and goofy aliens and is a popular location in the Star Wars fandom. The Denver Fan Expo contained a small cantina set similar to the one seen in “Star Wars: A New Hope” and featured actors dressed as Star Wars characters that you could meet and take pictures with. The cantina also showcased a small bar with a couple of droids at the helm.
Local Vendor Booths
Conventions like this are a great place for local vendors to sell their products. Things like artwork, homemade key chains, sculptures, and even novels were seen at the many booths at the Expo. Along with exploring all of the many products created by local artists the booths also gave guests a chance to help support the vendors by purchasing their items.
Gaming Stations
Trends may come and go, but one constant in the world of fandoms are video games. The Denver Fan Expo gave fans the chance to test their gaming skills against other Expo guests. Various stations on the sales floor provided this opportunity and featured games like Mortal Kombat and Smash Bros; there was even a room filled with old-school arcade games like Street Fighter and Mario Kart. Along with these, Expo attendees also had the opportunity to test their mettle in the Alienware station, also featured on the sales floor.
“The Boys” Panel and Meet-and-Greets
Ever since the Amazon Prime series “The Boys” premiered it has risen in popularity and accrued many, many fans. This was definitely apparent by the hoards of people that flocked to the panel and meet-and-greet tables seen at the Denver Fan Expo. Series actors Antony Starr, Colby Minifie, and Valorie Curry all made an appearance to discuss the series during the panel and to meet fans at their booths. With the fourth season wrapping up and the announcement that the fifth season will be the show’s last, this year’s Expo seemed to be as good a time as ever to meet three of the series’ most popular cast members.
Cosplay Meet-ups and Red Carpet
Cosplay has always been a main staple of conventions like Denver Fan Expo. Hundreds of people spend months putting their costumes together just for a chance to show them off to the other Expo guests. Whether it’s a costume from famed video game series Legend of Zelda, the characters Kaylee and Simon from the lesser-known property “Firefly”, or a large, homemade costume from a niche anime, fans go all out with their costumes.
Along with the fans having the opportunity to walk through the Expo to show off their hard work and dedication to their favorite characters cosplayers, both adults and children, were also given the chance to strut their stuff at the Cosplay Red Carpet event. Cosplayers lined up by the dozens waiting to show off their costume creations to the cheering crowd as the emcee announced the “character”. Happening on Sunday, July 7th, the last day of the Expo, the red carpet event was a great way to cap off an eventful weekend.
Other Popular Panels
While there were many panels at Denver Fan Expo some of the more popular were ones centered on the series “Charmed” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.
While the “Charmed” series leads Rose McGowan and Shannon Doherty were scheduled to appear with Holly Marie Combs for the panel, scheduling conflicts lead to McGowan and Doherty to having to be dropped from the schedule. Combs did appear at the Expo, though (both at the panel and her meet-and-greet table). Some of the many things Combs discussed at the panel was her life as a mom, running a restaurant with her husband, and how she and her character Piper differ and how they’re alike.
Another popular panel presented at the Denver Fan Expo was one for the Cartoon Network series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”. Appearing at the panel were voice actors Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, and Dee Bradley Baker. By a surprise turn of events famed voice actor Jim Cummings also made an appearance about halfway through the panel. Cummings voiced pirate and smuggler Hondo Ohnaka throughout the series’ run. As with every Expo panel the “Clone Wars” cast were asked questions by the audience, but unlike most panels the cast’s answers were pretty outlandish.
For example, most of Eckstein’s answers to questions went a bit off the rails and her fellow cast members made fun of her for veering off the usual trail; a couple of times she misinterpreted some questions from fans, so her answers became a bit inappropriate. Another example is Lanter’s answer to the question, “If Anakin/Vader had the opportunity to quit being a Sith Lord and go back to podracing do you think that he would?” Lanter answered, “I think that he would. I can just see Anakin in full Vader armor, mask and all, squeezing into a podracer with his cape blowing in the breeze as he zooms through the desert.” Of course, this answer lead to the audience erupting in laughter at the thought of this image filled their minds.
Denver Fan Expo 2024 was an event-filled weekend attended by thousands and thousands of people and featured dozens of actors, voice artists, and expert cosplayers. These, along with several other reasons, will put 2024’s Denver Fan Expo down in the history books as another successful Colorado event.
(Disclaimer: some photos were saved from Denver Fan Expo’s social media accounts and used in the article with permission from Denver Fan Expo’s media representative.)
